Auto Haulers Eye Initial Jack Cooper Tailwind in Weak Market

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The collapse of auto hauler Jack Cooper Transport is expected to provide an initial tailwind for other carriers in the sector, and possibly stimulate some appetite for mergers.

However, weak light-vehicle demand that stymied auto haulers as 2024 wound down is expected to continue, as industry observers say macroeconomic trends point to further downside.

The auto hauling sector is a bifurcated market, with the top 10 players holding 70% of the action and the other 30% of the pie spread out between a very large number of very small players.

Second-ranked Jack Cooper held about 13% of the market before auto giants Ford and GM pulled their business within the space of roughly six weeks. Dearborn and Detroit, Mich.-based Ford and GM were the cornerstone contracts among eight major original equipment manufacturer customers, sources said. Indeed, the auto hauling sector has a lot of captive volume, particularly as a number of major players are also brokers, Stifel Research Director for Transportation Bruce Chan told Transport Topics.

The closure of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Jack Cooper immediately shifted the demand side of the equation in the auto hauling marketplace, Chan added. The auto hauler’s collapse is putt…